Use if-else statements in place of switch statements that have noncontiguous case expressions

If the case expressions are contiguous or nearly contiguous integer values, most compilers translate the switch statement as a jump table instead of a comparison chain. Jump tables generally improve performance because they reduce the number of branches to a single procedure call, and shrink the size of the control-flow code no matter how many cases there are. The amount of control-flow code that the processor must execute is also the same for all values of the switch expression.

However, if the case expressions are noncontiguous values, most compilers translate the switch statement as a comparison chain. Comparison chains are undesirable because they use dense sequences of conditional branches, which interfere with the processor's ability to successfully perform branch prediction. Also, the amount of control-flow code increases with the number of cases, and the amount of control-flow code that the processor must execute varies with the value of the switch expression.

For example, if the case expression are contiguous integers, a switch statement can provide good performance: